Lock



Oct. 31, 1933. J KNELL 1,932,468

LOCK

Filed Jan. 11, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. KNELL Oct. 31, I933.

LOCK

Filed Jan. 11, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 iii/0%? fa/EL jCmZL M .wHIIHIIIITIlIIII srrs 'ATENT i LOCK John Knell, Aurora,

' Equip Company,

111., assignor to All-Steela corporation of Illinois Application January 11, 1930. Serial No. 420,038

11 Claims.

The primary object of this invention is toreduce the cost of manufacture of steel lockers by providing a latch mechanism of simplified design having a minimum number of parts, but which is, nevertheless, sturdy, reliable and theftproof. v

Further objects and advantages will become apparent as the disclosure proceeds and the description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a front elevational View of a locker employing the features of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal, sectional view taken through a corner of a locker and showing de-- plate with the plug head alined with the elongated slot to permit the latch bar to be raised;

tails of the lock and latch bar construction;

Fig. 3 is a'vertical, sectional view taken on the line 8-3 of Fig. 1 showing the loci; secured in the door above the handle;

Fig. 1 is a vertical, sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, illustrating the position oi'the lock plug when the latch bar locked against movement;

Fig. 5 is a front, elevational view of the lock Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the lock. plug head;

Figs. '7 to 12, inclusive, are views corresponding to Figs. 1 to 6, respectively, but which show a latch mechanism in which the lock is carried by the handle and cooperates with a suitable slot provided in the door panel.

But these illustrations and the corresponding specific description are used for the purpose of disclosure only, for it is realized that the sub stance of the invention may be embodied in other forms, and in relations other than a locker, such for example as fire doors, safes, deposit boxes, and the like.

The locker is of the usual sheet steel construction and comprises a frame having angle uprights 10, 11, and cross channels 12, 13, securely riveted together at their joints to give the frame sufficient rigidity to withstand rough handling. A door 14 is hinged at 15 to theupright 11 and is reinforced by a marginal flange of channel section having'a web 16 and a short wall 1'7 parallel to the door panel.

A latch bar 18 is cut from a rectangular bar of stout metal and has riveted to it a plurality of catches 19. The latch bar is slidably mounted within the channel of the door flange, and the catches 19 pass through suitable openings 20 in the wall 17 of the flange.

A handle 21, preferably UV-shaped in form, has a pair of arms 22 which extend through slots 23 in the door panel and are riveted at 24 to the latch bar;

Secured to the front web of the angle upright 10 is'a door jamb 25 of angular form, provided with a plurality of lugs 26 extending parallel to the front of the locker and located at suitable heights to cooperate with the catches 19 of the latch The lugs are offset from the front web of the upright 10 a distance which will bring the face of the door flush with the upright when the door is in its latched position. Preferably, the lugs have an inturned flange 2'? at their extremity to prevent the door jamb from being jirnmied out of its normal position;

The catches 19 are provided with beveled faces 28 and slots 29 in their lower edges so that as the catches come in contact with the lugs, they will raisethe latch bar sufficiently to allow the lugs to engage the slot 29 and thus clamp the door in closed position.

A look of the conventional tumbler type is fitted to the door and comprises a barrel 30 which passes through a suitable aperture 31 in the door panel and is secured to the door by a nut 32 engaging external threads 33 on the barrel. A rotatable plug 34 is secured within the barrel and may be turned when a suitable key 35 is inserted. Theinner end of the plug terminates in ahead 36 cut away on oppositesides to form flat parallel walls 3'?- and leaving a shoulder 38 on the cylindrical shank 39 of the head. The two ends of the h ad are rounded at 40 and one is'provided with a notch 41 out into its face.

Riveted to the latch bar at a point opposite the lock is a lock plate 42 flanged at 43 to receive the rivets and having a slot 44 substantially in the form of a key hole. .l-Ldore specifically, the slot includes an elongatedportion ddrounded at its lower end at l6 and merging above into an enlarged portion l? substantially circular in form.

The flattened head of the lock plug is adapted to extend into the slot and when'in the position shown in Fig. 4, the notch l1 is in engagement with the straight wall portion 48 of the plate, thus preventing the head from being forcibly retracted from the lock plate. A protuberance 49, extending into the circular area of the slot, acts as a stop for the head and limits its rotation to I As shown in Fig. 4, the plugihead is in engagement with the edge 50 of the protuberance and the latch bar is locked against movement. When 1 the plug is rotated clockwise through an angle of 90, the plug head strikes the other edge 51 at one end circular by the handle, and cooperates with a key hole slot cut in the door panel. In a sense, the latching action in this construction is just the reverse of the one described with reference to Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, in which the look was stationary and the slot was cut in a movable plate. In the present embodiment, it is the lock which moves and the slot, being cut from the door panel, is stationary.

Referring then to Fig. 9, the handle 52 has a pair of arms 53 which pass through suitable-slots 54 in the door panel and are riveted to the latch bar 55. Slightly offset from the general plane of the handle is an enlarged boss 56 having a lateral bore 5'? into which a lock plug 58 is fitted. The lock is of the same type as that already described and has a plug head of the same shape as that shown in Fig. 6, and which for convenience will be designated by the samereference characters.

Adjacent the upper slot 23, a key hole slot 59 is cut from the door panel, having a configure.- tion identical with the slot shown in Figs. l and 5, but which is necessarily inverted with respect to these figures. For convenience, also, the same reference characters will be applied to the slot 59 as to the slot 44.

In Fig. 10, the position of the plug head 36 within the circular area 47 of the slot indicates that the latch bar is in its lowermost position and is locked against movement. Also, it will be seen that in this position, it is impossible to retracttheplug head from the slot without locking the door, since the wall 43 is in engagement with the notch l]. of the head.

When the proper key 60 inserted in the lock and the plug rotated through an angle of em to the position shown in Fig, ll, the handle may then be raised carrying the plug head into the elongated portion 45 of the slot to unlatch the door. The latch mechanism describedeliminatesall needless parts and operates directly from the lock plug. The resulting economy in manufacture, the simplicity of design, and the efficacy of the lock are obvious attributes which give to it a substantial place in the development of the art.

I- claim as my invention:-

In a latch mechanism for locker doors, a latch bar vertically movable relative to the door and extending substantially its full length, means for locking the latch bar against movement including a key plug having a flattened head, said h ad being engageable in an elongated slot provided with an enlargement at one end.

2. In a locker including a door and a door lamb, the combination of a latch bar, catches on the bar engageable with thedoor jainb, a handle to disengage the latch bar from the jamb, and

for locking the latch bar against movement including a key having a flattened head engageable in a keyhole slot.

' A look plug having a rectangular head with rounded ends, and anotch in one of the ends.

l. a latch mechan' 'l, the combination of a rotatable lock plug provided with a'l'ectangular head notched at one end, and a cooperating member having an elongated slot with an enlargement :0. form except for an angular protuberance one edge of which is in line with a wall of the elongated portion, and a wall extending into the circular area and engaging the notch in the head.

5. A metal sheet provided with a slot adapted to receive the flattened head of a lock plug and including. an elongated portion with an enlargement at one 'end substantially circular in form, an angular protuberance having one edge in line with a side wall of the elongated portion, and a wall extending into the circular area and engageable with a notch on the plug head.

6. In a latch mechanism for locker doors, the combination of a door provided with a keyhole slot, a latch bar vertically movable with respect to the door, a rotatable lock plug carried by the latch bar having a locking head engageable with the door slot, said plug and slot cooperating to lock the latch bar against movement when the plug is in one position, but permitting the latch to be moved when the lock plug is in another position.

'7. In a latch mechanism for locker doors, the combination or" a door, a latch bar vertically movable with respect to the door and provided with a keyhole slot, a rotatable lock plug secured to the door having a locking head engageable with the latch bar slot, said plug and slot cooperating to lock the latch bar against movement when the plug is in one position but permitting the latch bar to be moved when the lock plug is in another position.

8. In'a latch mechanism for locker doors, a latch bar vertically movable relative to the door, means for locking the latch bar against movement, including a locking plug having a rectangular head with rounded ends and a notch in one of the ends, said head being engageable in an elongated slot provided with an enlargement'in one end.

9. In a latch mechanism for locker doors, a door member, a latch bar member movable vertically with respect to the door and extending substantially its full length, a handle member movably mounted relative to said door and extending to the outside thereof for raising said latch bar, one of said members having an integral shoulder provided thereon, and a rotatable key plug carried by the other member adapted to engage the shoulder and hold the latch bar against movement when the key plug is in one position, but permitting the latch bar to be moved freely by said handle relative to the door when the key plug is in another position. i

19. In a device of the class described, a door member, a latch bar member movable vertically with respect to the door member, ahandle member accessible from the exterior of said door member for elevating said bar member and means inclu ing a key plug rotatably mounted on one of said members and having a flattened surface, the lateral extremity of which does not extend laterally beyond the peripheral surface of said key plug for cooperating. with a shouldered locking surface on another of said members when said plug is turned to locking position, for locking said latch bar member against. movement when said door member is in closed position.

11. In a device of the class described, a door member, a latch bar member movable longitudi nally of the door and means to lock the latch bar member against movement including a plug rotatably mounted on one of said members and having a head directly engageable with ashoulder integral with the other member for holding said latch bar member in locked position and a handle secured to and movable with said latch barmernber and extending to the exterior of said door member and slidable relative thereto for operating said latch bar member.

' JOHN KNELL. 

